Murder mystery cracked: Contract killer hired by boyfriend mowed down Ludhiana woman, say cops
Mohali resident, his driver arrested by Ludhiana police in connection with the murder; contract killer absconding
The police solved the murder of a 33-year-old woman with the arrest of two accused, including her aide. According to the police, the accused had hired a contract killer for the murder, who had made it look like a road mishap. The accused, a widower, had a relationship with the unmarried woman, who was a resident of Hargobind Nagar in the city. As the woman started forcing him to marry her, the accused plotted the murder.
According to police, the footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area raised their suspicions and investigations found that the apparent road mishap was a murder. Officials said that after hitting the woman with a sports utility vehicle (SUV), the accused had stepped out to check if she had died. Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha of Mohali and his driver Kulwinder Singh alias Pinda of Tarn Taran have been arrested. Lakhwinder Singh runs a business of mobile phones. With the help of Pinda, he hired Ajmer Singh of Amritsar for the murder. Ajmer Singh on the run, they added.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP city 1) Jagbinder Singh said that during the investigation, police found that the accused did recce for three days before the crime. On the morning of April 11, when the woman was going to a gym, accused Ajmer Singh mowed her down with a Mahindra Xylo SUV. The driver stepped out of the vehicle to confirm if she passed away. As the onlookers huddled at the spot, the accused fled.
The ADCP said that police had lodged a first information report (FIR) under sections 279, 337, 338 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Ajmer Singh.
“During the investigation, the police found that the woman was crossing the road near Suffian Chowk when the SUV hit her. There was no traffic on the road at the time. We found that the woman was in a relationship with Lakhwinder Singh and three months ago, Lakha got engaged to another woman. After finding out about the engagement, the victim started pressuring Lakha to marry her,” said the ADCP.
“Police are investigating to find out the amount Ajmer had charged from Lakha for the task,” he added.
Division Number 3 station-house officer (SHO) inspector Nardev Singh said police have added section 302 and 120 B of the IPC to the FIR and a hunt is on for Ajmer’s arrest.
The woman worked at an electronics shop and her father and two brothers were already deceased.